BASEBALL: Sedation medicine for beaten Giants fan is stopped

The sedation medicine that kept San Francisco Giants Bryan Stow
in a medically induced coma since getting viciously attacked
outside Dodgers Stadium on March 31 has been stopped, though the
Santa Cruz father of two remains in critical condition with a
life-threatening brain injury at a Los Angeles hospital.
SANTA CRUZ

The sedation medicine that kept San Francisco Giants Bryan Stow in a medically induced coma since getting viciously attacked outside Dodgers Stadium on March 31 has been stopped, though the Santa Cruz father of two remains in critical condition with a life-threatening brain injury at a Los Angeles hospital.

The upside for Stow’s family and friends is that there haven’t been any brain seizures since the medicine was halted Friday, according to officials with Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Previous attempts in the past few weeks to take Stow off the sedation medicine were hampered because he would immediately suffer a seizure after the reduction in medication, which doctors said could further traumatize the brain injury.

Stow, 42, still in a coma, is unable to transfer to a hospital closer to home in the San Francisco Bay Area until doctors are confident his condition is stable enough to make such a move.

“This is day No. 4 without any type of seizure,” hospital spokeswoman Rosa Saca said Monday. “His vital signs are stable and he’s not spiking a fever, but he’s still comatose. He’s still critical. This does not mean he’s going to wake up from the coma. He might, but there’s no timeline.”

Stow, a longtime, passionate Giants fan who works as a paramedic with American Medical Response of Santa Clara, had driven to Los Angeles with some friends to attend the Dodgers opening day game against the Giants.

It was his first visit to Dodgers Stadium.

Stow, who wore Giants attire during the ball game, was walking in the parking lot after the game when he was blindsided by two men. The men knocked Stow to the ground and kicked him in the head several times before fleeing in a nearby car possibly driven by a woman.

The suspects are believed to be Latino men in their 20s.

Los Angeles police say the case is still under investigation, but no arrests have been made, officer Gregory Baek said Monday.

“There are no significant updates at this time,” Baek said.

Meanwhile, Stow’s family has stayed close to his bedside in Los Angeles.

They are hopeful the seizures won’t return and Stow can move to a hospital closer to their home in Santa Cruz.

“It’ll be at least two weeks until we can entertain the idea of moving Bryan. The most important thing is to stop the seizures,” said cousin John Stow, a Santa Cruz resident. “It really depends on how Bryan is responding to everything at this point.”

The amount of sympathy and support for Stow from the public has been a bright spot for the family.

Numerous fundraisers have been held, which have raised about $500,000 for Stow and his recovery efforts, John Stow said.

He said support has come from all over the country. “I can’t wait ’til he wakes up. He’s not going to believe what a celebrity he’s become,” John Stow said. “It’s just a matter of time before the body does what it needs to do. It’ll be a long road, but well worth it.”